Various vacuum systems have been used for many years for the purposes of collecting material and cleaning particulate debris in industrial, commercial, and residential applications. Heavy-duty vacuum systems with large collection capacities are essential to collecting material and cleaning particulate debris in factories, lumber yards, construction sites, amusement parks, conventional halls, shopping centers, residences, and the like. Likewise, heavy-duty vacuum systems with large collection capacities are essential to collecting material and cleaning particulate debris in gutter cleaning applications. This is due not only to the fact that such applications often contain a great volume of discarded or unwanted material, but also because of the fact that such discarded or unwanted material tends to be found in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and constituent materials (including wet constituent materials). In addition, various industrial, commercial, and other applications often contain a great volume of material which may be desirable to reuse or recycle.
Typical industrial/commercial vacuum systems which include an upright metal canister connected to a blower/vacuum motor, some of which may be suitable for gutter cleaning applications, for example, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,723,971 and 4,467,494. One disadvantage of this type of industrial/commercial vacuum system is its large, bulky design. Vacuum systems of such designs are comparatively heavy due to the metal cylinder which forms the receptacle for debris. Due to their bulk and weight, such vacuum systems may be difficult to maneuver over large areas, such as factory floors, lumber yards, construction sites, amusement parks, convention halls, shopping centers, residences, and the like. Likewise, such vacuum systems may be difficult to maneuver outdoors in gutter cleaning applications. Further, such vacuum systems that use suction (water-lift) to clean, typically have only 60-80 CFM (approximately 1700-2265 liters/minute) of air flow, and typically use a maximum two-inch (approximately 5-centimeter) diameter intake hose that limits the size of the material collected. Thus, there is a loss of power when the vacuum intake is extended beyond a few feet (meters) from the unit.
Another disadvantage of such vacuum systems is that the metal cylinder which forms the receptacle for debris is not designed to accommodate large volumes of bulky material. Additional examples of vacuum systems with similar metal cylinders which form the receptacles for debris are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,570,222; 4,072,483; 5,069,696; 5,242,588; and 5,259,087, among others.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,118, issued to McIntyre et al. on Jan. 9, 2001, and commonly assigned to Upkeeper Corporation, is incorporated in full by reference herein. Another portable and mobile industrial/commercial vacuum system ideal for the collection of bulky debris, such as plastic pellets, packing peanuts, fabric, paper, carpet clippings, empty aluminum cans, drinking cups and straws, popcorn, etc. is the UPKEEPER VOYAGER TURBO TRANSFORMER®, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,110, manufactured by and commonly assigned to Upkeeper Corporation, also incorporated in full by reference herein. Unlike conventional vacuum systems that use suction (water-lift) to clean, the turbo fan technology used in the Upkeeper vacuum system generates 500 CFM (approximately 14157 liters/minute) of air flow to clean debris with ease, and the air flow works even at distances of 20-25 feet (approximately 6-7.5 meters) overhead. This and other technological advances of Upkeeper Corporation may be applied to gutter cleaning applications and the like, as disclosed herein.
While the Upkeeper vacuum system has greatly advanced the art related to industrial/commercial vacuum systems, it is designed to include a receptacle for debris or collection bag which may not be suitable for storing large volumes of material (or wet volumes of material, in the gutter cleaning case). When the collection bag is full, the operator must turn off the vacuum system power and empty the collection bag before continuing to collect debris. Thus, the cleanup process is slowed. While there are conventional vacuum systems that are designed to provide large receptacles for debris, and even wet debris, these conventional vacuum systems are heavy and awkward, and require a large space for storage of the machine, not to mention large packaging for shipping of the machine.
In addition, conventional vacuum systems providing 60-80 CFM (approximately 1700-2265 liters/minute) of air flow must have a receptacle for debris that is constructed of a sturdy material, such as metal, which requires a large space for storage and large packaging for shipping. Without such a sturdy material, the receptacle for debris would likely implode (collapse) under suction. Thus, conventional materials for such vacuum systems have not been lightweight. In general, these conventional vacuum systems have not been designed for the collection of bulky or wet debris, such as plastic pellets, packing peanuts, fabric, paper, carpet clippings, empty aluminum cans, drinking cups and straws, popcorn, leaves, pinecones, mulch, etc.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a lightweight, maneuverable, thin-walled, transparent apparatus for use with a heavy-duty vacuum system for quickly and easily collecting and storing large volumes of bulky debris, thereby reducing the time needed for cleanup. There is also a need in the art for an improved vacuum manifold assembly that may be used in conjunction with various gas and electric blower/vacuum motors, both novel and conventional. There is further a need in the art for various gutter cleaning and other tools that may be used in conjunction with such a vacuum system. Preferably, the desired gutter cleaning vacuum system including the improved hinged vacuum manifold assembly would have sufficient power and would be designed such that the various gutter cleaning and other tools would be effective, suction-wise, at great distances from the unit, such that an operator may use the gutter cleaning and other tools at great distances over his/her head, for example.